


Whoops

by ru_salki99 (orphan_account)



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Time, Fluff, M/M, Pretending to Be Gay, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-18
Updated: 2011-10-18
Packaged: 2017-10-24 18:05:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/266339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/ru_salki99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When watching ep 3x17 - 'Crash and Burn' I couldn't help but notice that Nick and Hodges were awfully hostile with each other and here's my take on why</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

As Greg swabbed the pen lid that Sara had given him, he did his best to ignore Hodges who had just crept into the lab, obviously hoping to take Greg by surprise. Deciding to see what he was up to, Greg kept his mouth shut and carried on processing the swab. He didn’t even look Hodges in the eye when he stepped over to programme the quantifier. Taking his time, he noticed Hodges bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet, obviously feeling nervous about something. When he was finally done, he looked up at him, acknowledging him for the first time and signalled for him to speak.

Smiling, Hodges stepped forward slightly, “Did you know, that on average, one hundred people choke to death on the lids of ballpoint pens every year.”

Greg frowned, “And that’s relevant because?”

“The pen lid,” Hodges said as if Greg was stupid.

Greg sighed, he really was far too busy for this. Pushing past him, he sat down at his work bench to begin processing the next piece of evidence, “Okay, well if that’s it, I have a lot of work to do so…”

“Do you wanna go out sometime?” Hodges blurted out as he turned to face him, his cheeks going bright pink as he did so.

“Excuse me?” Greg squeaked in surprise.

“For dinner, I mean,” Hodges clarified, “You’re cute and your smart so I thought you know, I’d ask. So you wanna?”

“Uh, I don’t think it would be such a good idea,” Greg said, trying to let the guy down gently. After all, it wouldn’t do for there to be bad tension between them if he hurt his feelings.

“Really?” Hodges asked in surprise, “Why not?”

Greg almost didn’t answer. He didn’t want to say he wasn’t attracted to him, or that he wasn’t his type as that would inevitably hurt his feelings (he was way too sensitive) and so when it looked like Hodges was about to press him for an answer, he said the only thing he could think of.

“I’m seeing someone,” he lied.

Hodges stood up straight in surprise, “You’re seeing someone?”

Greg nodded, “Yup. So sorry, can’t go out for dinner with you.”

“But… Archie said you were single.”

Greg did his best not to swear out loud. Archie and his big mouth. He knew it had been a bad idea renting an apartment with him.

“We’ve only been on a couple of dates,” he said, “And cause it’s kind of new I haven’t said anything to Archie yet. Don’t want to get his hopes up for me you know,” he added with a cheeky smile.

Hodges smiled too, “So it’s not serious then?” he asked, stepping closer to Greg.

“Not exactly,” Greg said, clearing his throat, “But I uh, I really like him and I’d kind of like to give it a chance.”

Hodges sighed and stood up straight, “Oh well. Can’t blame a guy for trying right?”

Greg nodded, “Right,” he said, thankful that Hodges was finally going back to his own lab.

But before he disappeared completely, Hodges turned round to face him again, “Just out of curiosity, it’s someone who works in the lab isn’t it? That’s why you’ve not said anything to anyone yet?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, that’s exactly it.”

Hodges grinned, “So who is he then?”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Nick!” Greg shouted as he saw him marching past the lab.

“What’s up?” Nick asked him as he spun to look at him standing in the doorway.

“I need to talk to you,” Greg told him, nodding his head in the direction of his work bench.

Nick sighed and followed him inside, “Can you make this quick, I need to get hold of Grissom before he heads over to P.D.”

“Sure, I’ll be very quick,” Greg told him, “I need a favour.”

Nick raised an eyebrow at him, “What kind of favour?”

Looking up, Greg saw Hodges watching him from across the way. Deciding that he would need to do this somewhere a bit more private, he grabbed Nick by the wrist and dragged him out and down the hall towards the locker room.

“Greg? What the hell is going on?” Nick asked in confusion, “You in some kind of trouble.”

“Yes, and no,” Greg said as he shut the door behind him, leaning back against it.

“Well spit it out,” Nick said, “You know you’re a good friend, I’d do anything for you. But you gotta ask first.”

“Right,” Greg nodded, “I uh, I kind of need you to be my pretend boyfriend.”

This time both of Nick’s eyebrows shot up, “You need me to what?”

Sighing, Greg stepped away from the door and slumped down onto the bench, “Hodges was hitting on me earlier, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings cause you know, he’s still kind of the new guy and so I told him I was seeing someone. He then said that Archie told him I was single so I said that it was all very new and so he then jumped to the conclusion that I hadn’t said anything just yet cause the guy I’m dating worked here, in the lab. And that’s where you come in.”

“Hold on, you told Hodges that I was your boyfriend?”

“No. Of course not. He did ask but I refused to tell him. But soon people, and by people I mean my interfering roommate, Mr Archibald Big Mouth, are going to start asking questions. And I just… I don’t have anyone else that I could ask.”

“What about that guy you used to go out with, the one that works on the front desk on days?” Nick asked.

“Kyle? He lives with his new boyfriend,” Greg explained, “And if I’m honest, I so wouldn’t go there again.”

“Well what about Warwick?” Nick asked, “Can’t you get him to do it?”

“Warwick?” Greg asked in surprise, “Warwick who’s slept with almost all the hot female lab techs? I don’t think that would be very believable.”

“And what? I would?”

“Well it’s not like you’ve been out on a date in a long long time, and certainly not with anyone from the lab.”

“But I’m not gay,” Nick said, “And if people think that I am, then it’s gonna be even longer till I get another date.”

“You don’t have to say you’re gay, just say you’re bi or something,” Greg said as he stood back up, “Please Nick. I’m begging you. It’ll only be for a short while until Hodges moves on to someone else, then we can break up. And I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

“You’ll make it worth my while?” Nick asked, “And how exactly do you propose to do that?”

“I could pay you?”

“Pay me? Greg, don’t…” Nick looked down as his pager went off, “Look, I gotta go,” he said as he opened the door, “But we will talk about this later. In the mean time, don’t go sayin anythin to anybody. You hear me?”

“Yes, I hear you,” Greg said with a grin.

Nick just shook his head in disbelief and began walking down the corridor, “Quit smiling G,” Nick shouted back to him, “It wasn’t a yes.”

“Wasn’t a no either,” Greg replied before walking in the opposite direction towards his lab, aware of Hodges, Archie and a couple of the other lab techs watching him closely.

It was going to be a long night.

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Rubbing his tired eyes, Nick headed towards the break room where some of the lab techs were sitting. Sara and Catherine also just happened to be in there. What the hell were they all doing?

“Come on Greg, who is he?” he heard Sara ask.

Oh that was just great. Sighing, he pushed the door open and stepped instead.

“Hey G, you wanna go get breakfast?” he asked making everyone turn to look at him,

“Breakfast?” Greg asked in surprise.

“Yeah. We still need to talk about that thing remember.”

“Oh right. That thing. Sure, I’ll just go get my jacket,” he said with a smile, stepping out of the break room and leaving Nick on his own with his colleagues.

“Oh my God,” Catherine said quietly, “You’re the secret boyfriend?” she asked.

Nick could feel his face going red. He had been going to tell Greg that there was no way he was going to do this, but it seemed that he didn’t have a choice.

“Since when?” Sara asked, her and everyone else staring hard at him.

“It’s complicated,” Nick finally said, looking down at his hand and studying his nails.

“He deserves better,” Hodges said, making Nick snap his head up to look at him.

“Excuse me?”

“Greg deserves better than some macho jock closet case,” Hodges told him, “You’re not good enough for him.”

“Hodges, you’ve only been here a couple of months, so don’t even begin to think that you know me. As for my sexuality, that’s no one’s business but mine and my partner’s. I’ve never hidden my sexuality from anyone. And just cause I don’t go screamin it from the roof tops does not mean that I’m in the closet.”

“Okay, I’m ready,” Greg said with a smile as he came back into the break room, pausing when he saw the murderous glares Nick and Hodges were giving each other, “Whoa, tension. What’s going on guys?”

“You’re boyfriend’s an ass,” Hodges said.

Nick turned to Greg, ignoring him, “How about we go back to mine for some pancakes?”

“Uh, sure,” Greg nodded, trying not to act surprised when Nick took hold of his hand and begun to lead him out of there, “Bye guys. See you tonight.”

When they were gone, Hodges stood up and marched out of the room, deciding to head home. When he was out of sight, Sara turned to Catherine, “Did you know Nick was gay?” she asked.

“Hell no,” she said with a shake of her head, “But after that little speech I don’t think he is.”

“What do you mean?” Bobby asked from where he was finishing his coffee.

“He never once said he was actually gay,” she pointed, making Bobby, Archie and Sara nod, “Well I think that’s cause he’s bi. I think if he was gay, we all would’ve realised a long time ago.”

“Who’s gay?” Grissom asked as he stepped into the room with Warwick.

“Nick,” Sara informed him, “Well, actually we think he’s bi.”

Warwick frowned at her, “You’re shitting me right?”

“He just left here with Greg to go get pancakes at his place,” Catherine explained.

“Greg?” Warwick asked, turning to Archie.

“Hey, don’t look at me,” Archie said with a shrug, “Greg hasn’t told me anything. I only found out that Greg was seeing someone cause Hodges told me.”

“How did Hodges find out?” Warwick asked.

“He asked Greg out, Greg said he couldn’t, that he was seeing someone.”

Warwick smiled, “And you don’t think that perhaps he was lying to spare Hodges’ feelings?”

“Well I did, but then Nick came in and well…”

“There’s definitely something going on between them,” Catherine said.

“Well if there is, then it’s none of our business,” Grissom said, “So I suggest you all stop gossiping and go home.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“What happened in there?” Greg asked as Nick drove them to his place.

“Hodges,” Nick told him.

“What about him?”

“He said you deserved better than some macho jock closet case.”

Greg frowned, “What did you say?”

“Told him I wasn’t in the closet and that my sexuality is no ones business but mine and my partner’s,” he said.

“Right, so does this mean you’ll do it?” Greg asked him, trying not to smile, “You’ll pretend to be my boyfriend?”

Sighing, Nick gave him a small nod.

“Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I swear, you won’t regret it.”

“But there are gonna be rules,” Nick told him.

“What kind of rules?”

“No kissing.”

“No kissing? What not even a peck on the cheek? People will figure this out straight away if there is _no_ affection between us.”

“Okay, so no tongues then,” Nick told him, “And no groping. Especially below the belt.”

Greg smiled, “Okay. No groping. Next?”

“No telling anyone stories about what we do behind closed doors, no matter how good it might make me look.”

“No stories. Got it. Anything else?”

Nick thought about it for a moment, “Can’t think of anything else just now. But we’ll need to get our story straight. People will want to know how you managed to snag a handsome guy like myself.”

Greg snorted in amusement, “Are you kidding me? No one can resist the Sanders charm,” he said with a smile, “But you’re right, we will have to figure something out. Oh and you’ll probably need to stay at mines a couple of times a week or else Archie will get suspicious.”

“Can’t you just stay at mine?” Nick asked, “I mean, I got a fold out couch in the study so we wouldn’t need to share a bed or anything.”

“You have a study?”

Nick shrugged, “Yeah. Got my computer and my books all in there. Why? Where do you keep all your stuff?”

“In my bedroom,” Greg told him, “Both myself and Archie are pretty protective over our belongings.”

“Sounds pretty crowded.”

“I have a large room,” Greg told him, “With a very large bed so you don’t need to worry about getting too close when we share it,” he added with a wicked grin.

Nick shook his head in amusement, “This is me,” he said as he pulled into his parking space.

“Wow, this is nice,” Greg told him as he took a look at the apartment complex.

“Yeah, well anywhere’s nicer than my old place,” he said as he climbed out of the car and started leading the way inside.

Greg followed him into the building on the left and into the elevator, “Penthouse?” he asked in surprise.

Nick cleared his throat nervously and tried not to blush, “It uh, it’s a loft conversion so it doesn’t have an attack.”

“Oh, cool,” Greg said, not really knowing what else to say to that. Although it did make sense that Nick would want to live somewhere where there was no chance of someone watching him like Crane did, “Must have been expensive,” he finally added.

“It was worth it,” Nick told him as he stepped out into the hallway and pulled out his keys.

As he stepped inside, Nick dumped his keys in the bowl by the door before shrugging his jacket off and hanging it on the hook above it. He then held out his hand and Greg suddenly realised he wanted his jacket too and so took it off and handed it to him with thanks.

“You want the grand tour now or you wanna eat first?” Nick asked him.

“Eat,” Greg said.

Nick smiled, “Thought you might say that,” he said, “Come on, kitchen’s through here,” he said leading him through a door to the right.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

“Rise and shine sleeping beauty.”

Greg cracked his eye open to see Nick smiling down at him from the door to his study.

“What time is it?” he croaked out as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“Six thirty,” Nick told him, “Thought maybe we could go for something to eat before work. You know, work on our story,” he added with a playful grin.

Greg smiled back, “Our first date,” he said cheerfully.

“Really? I was under the impression that it was our fourth?”

“A mere technicality,” Greg said as he sat up.

“So,” Nick continued, “What did Judy and George do to you?” he asked as he looked at his stuffed Yellow-Billed Loon and Long-Tailed Jaeger who were currently covered in one of the sheets he’d given Greg to sleep under.

“They kept staring at me,” Greg told him as he got up, “Was freaking me out. So I covered them.”

“They kept staring at you?”

“Yeah,” Greg nodded as if Nick was clearly dumb.

“They’re dead Greg. Stuffed. They weren’t staring at anyone.”

“Yeah, well it was still freaky,” Greg told him as he pushed past and headed for the kitchen, “What is it with you and birds anyway? You’re like Grissom and his bugs… do you know that you’ve got like fifteen books on North American hunting birds alone, not to mention birds from all around the world.”

“Yes Greg I know,” Nick said as he followed him, watching curiously as he went about making himself some coffee, frowning at the jar of instant sitting on Nick’s worktop, “I like birds,” he added, “They interest me.”

Accepting his fate, Greg switched the kettle on to boil before turning to Nick, “They interest you?” he asked to which Nick just nodded, “So is this like a new thing? Cause some of those books look pretty old.”

“No it’s not a new thing. I’ve been fascinated with them ever since I was little. My Grandpa used to have a cockatiel. It was the cutest little thing. Used to sit on his shoulder and peck away at his glasses when he was trying to read. When my Grandpa passed away, no one wanted to take care of him, so I did. But he was noisy and my folks didn’t like it when he flew about the house cause he left droppings everywhere so they gave him away. Not sure who to though. But since then, I’ve just liked birds.”

Greg smiled, “Interesting,” he said, “You know, everyone thinks that when you come out with some weird fact about birds it’s cause you’ve been watching too much discovery channel.”

Nick smiled, “I know,” he said, “Guess I just don’t look like the kind of person who would voluntarily study birds.”

“Why didn’t you?” Greg asked him, “I mean, like in college? Why study criminal justice? Why not ornithology?”

“I wanted to,” Nick told him, “But my parents didn’t think it was a suitable career path. They told me that if I wanted to learn about birds then I was to do it on my own time, with my own money. So that’s what I did. And I used their money to get me my career as a CSI, which I don’t think they were very happy about either, but at least it wasn’t ornithology.”

“You know, my Mom wanted me to become an English teacher, like her. Said a lab was too dangerous, too volatile,” Greg said as he finished making his coffee, “But she knew how much I loved science and so relented.”

Nick nodded and watched as Greg took a sip of his coffee, laughing as he spat it back out again.

“My God! I didn’t think they actually made coffee this bad!”

“I’ll buy you a proper coffee at dinner then,” Nick said, “But first, you have to shower.”

“Okay, but I have nothing to wear,” Greg told him as he let Nick lead him towards the bathroom.

“I’ll look out some of my smaller shirts then, okay?”

“One of your shirts?” Greg asked making a disgusted face.

Nick just ignored him though, “Shower, now,” he said, pushing him into the bathroom before going to search his wardrobe for something that Greg would actually fit into.

As he browsed his wardrobe, he couldn’t help but think about how much he was actually looking forward to going along with this whole pretend boyfriend thing. He had been dreading it at first, but he realised that if everyone thought he was in a relationship, then they would stop trying to set him up with their friends, and by everybody, he meant Catherine and Warrick.

He just wasn’t looking for a relationship right now, but for some reason they both found it extremely difficult to comprehend. When they asked him why he’d just shrugged, but truth was he had trust issues. Which of course was expected. Anyone who had been stalked generally had trust issues. So this whole thing with Greg was perfect. Although, he was aware that they would no doubt ask some inappropriate questions. That, he wasn’t looking forward to.

And then there was the cops. He wasn’t sure how they’d react to the news that CSI Stokes liked cock. More than likely, not well. He had always fitted in well with the cops that he worked with, being an ex cop himself, but he knew just how bigoted they could be and they would let something as small as this interfere with any working relationship he might have with any of them. Well Brass and the detectives would probably disapprove but not let it affect work, but the others, the uniformed officers wouldn’t be near as polite.

He and Greg had talked about this over breakfast. Greg had offered to tell Hodges the truth if he didn’t want to face it, but Nick said no. Why should he let the cops’ opinions affect who he dated. He didn’t approve of a lot of their partners, but he never said anything. So now, he was doing it not only to have some fun with the others, but to prove a point to the cops.

“Please tell me that isn’t the only thing you have in my size,” Greg said as he looked at a small mustard yellow t-shirt that was sitting on the bed.

Nick turned to see Greg standing at the doorway to his bedroom with only low hung jeans on, looking extremely unimpressed as he towel dried his hair.

“Uh, well it’s the only t-shirt I got that might fit you,” Nick said as he turned back to his wardrobe, “Unless you want to wear a shirt?” he asked as he pulled out two fitted shirts, one dark blue, the other white with brown stripes.

Greg stepped forward and grabbed both the shirts, pulling them off the hanger and trying them on. Nick watched him curiously as he turned and twisted, trying to see how he looked from every angle in front of the mirror.

“This one’s too big,” he said as he took off the blue one, and throwing it back down onto the bed. Nick was about to make a witty remark about Greg being scrawny when something caught his eye.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing to Greg’s navel.

“What’s what?” Greg asked as he pulled the striped shirt onto his shoulders.

“That.”

Greg looked down and then smiled, “Oh that. That’s my tattoo,” he said cheerfully.

“You’re tattoo?” Nick asked curiously, “What kind of tattoo?”

Greg unbuttoned the top three buttons of his jeans and pushed them open, showing Nick that not only was he wearing no underwear, but that he had a tattoo of a bull’s head right at the base of his navel.

“I’m a Taurus,” Greg explained before buttoning his jeans back up.

“Of course,” Nick said with a nod as he straightened up, “Where’s your underwear?” he asked.

Greg turned back to the mirror and began button up the white shirt, “In your laundry basket with my t-shirt. Didn’t think you would mind. I don’t have a bag with me so…”

“No, no, it’s cool,” Nick said as he watched Greg twist and turn again, “That one looks alright.”

“Yeah,” Greg said, “It is a bit of plain though. Remind me to take you shopping.”

Nick snorted in amusement, “Sure,” he said as he picked up the discarded shirt and t-shirt and began to put them back into the wardrobe.

“Okay, before I go investigate your hair products, I need you to do one more thing,” Greg said as he turned back round to face Nick.

“What?” Nick asked with narrowed eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“I can’t believe you actually gave me a love bite,” Greg said as he laughed behind his menu.

“You told me to,” Nick said, getting more and more annoyed at him.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it. I mean, it’s not like we’re twelve anymore is it?”

“Whatever,” Nick said, looking down at his own menu. It wasn’t like he had to look though as he’d come to this steak house more than enough times to know the menu off by heart.

Greg was still giggling when the waitress came over to take their order. Greg surprised Nick slightly by asking for a rare porterhouse steak.

“You do know we’re splitting the cheque right?” Nick said.

“Of course,” Greg said with a smile as he picked up his coke.

“Good,” Nick said as he grabbed his own. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Nick spoke, “I have a question I need to ask.”

“Shoot,” Greg said.

“You know, people are going to ask me about… you know.”

“You mean, who’s on top?” Greg asked him.

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t know what it is you like, and if I say the wrong thing then people will know.”

“I’m easy,” Greg said with a shrug, before smiling slightly at his own pun, “What I mean is I enjoy both.”

“Oh,” Nick said, leaning forward slightly, “How do you decide what way you’re gonna do it?” he asked curiously.

“Well it depends on a couple of things,” Greg told him, “What I’m in the mood for, what my partner likes…”

“Yeah, how do you know?” Nick asked, “Without directly asking that is?”

Greg shrugged, “There are a few ways to tell. There’s the hanky code,” he said.

“The hanky code?”

“Yeah, you never heard of it?”

“Well yeah, in passing, but I couldn’t tell you how it works.”

“Okay, well each colour and pattern means something different, for instance, light blue is the colour for oral sex. Depending on what pocket you wear it in, clarifies whether you prefer to get sucked or do the sucking.”

“Oh. So if you wanted to do the sucking…”

”Right back pocket,” Greg told him, trying not to grin too much at the morbid fascination Nick was showing for the subject, “Generally, the left back pocket symbolises dominance and the right is submission.”

“Oh okay,” Nick said with a nod, “What about if you don’t know the hanky code?”

“Well, sometimes it’s blatantly obvious. Like Hodges for example. The man is such a control freak that he has to be on top.”

Nick frowned, “You can just tell?”

Greg nodded, “But you can clarify it by how they kiss.”

“How they kiss?”

“Yup. Whoever dominates the kiss will no doubt dominate the bed. But then, there are ways to dominate whilst being penetrated. But if you’re not sure, it’s better just to ask.”

“Okay. So, if people ask me…”

Greg shrugged, “Tell them it’s none of their business. Although I doubt very much that they’ll think that you would be the one to go on the bottom.”

“You think?” Nick asked, smiling slightly.

“Yeah, you’re far too rugged,” Greg told him just as their food appeared, halting all conversation about tops and bottoms.

~*~*~*~*~*~

When Nick and Greg walked into the locker room, they were not surprised to find a number of their colleagues waiting for them.

“Hey,” Nick said with a small nod to Sara and Catherine as Greg went to his locker.

“Hey Greg,” Mandy said with a grin, “How were your pancakes?”

“Delicious,” Greg told her with a grin of his own. And even though he knew he was actually only talking about pancakes Nick couldn’t stop himself from blushing slightly.

“Oh my God!”

Everyone turned to the door to look at Sara, standing there grinning like a mad woman.

“What?” Catherine asked.

“Greg has a hickey,” she told them all, stepping forward to get a better look.

“No I don’t,” Greg said as he immediately contracted his neck, trying to use his shirt collar to hide his neck.

“And that’s Nick’s shirt,” Catherine added, remembering that he used to wear it all the time when he was a CSI one. It was one of his favourites.

“He didn’t have a change of clothes with him,” Nick said, getting over his previous embarrassment to rescue Greg from Sara and Catherine’s wandering hands.

“Aw,” Mandy said as she shrugged off her labcoat, ready to go home, “That’s so sweet. Did you borrow his underwear too?”

Greg grinned, relaxing his neck as he forgot about why he had been hiding it, showing off his love bite to them all, “That would be a no,” he told her as he turned back to his locker and pulled out his own labcoat.

Before anyone could say anything else, Grissom appeared at the door, “You two,” he said to Nick and Greg, “I need a word in my office.”

Pushing their way past everyone else, Nick and Greg followed Grissom down the hall.

“Close the door,” Grissom said as he sat down at his desk. Nick allowed Greg to walk in front of him as he closed the door, “Please, sit down,” Grissom added once the door was closed.

“What’s this all about Gris?” Nick asked as he sat down next to Greg.

“Ecklie,” Grissom told them, “I came in early to do some paperwork and I only managed to get half of it done cause he spent the rest of the time chewing my ear off about you two.”

Nick and Greg frowned in confusion.

“The entire lab is talking about you, and not just the graveshift,” Grissom explained, “And so naturally, word got back to Ecklie.”

Nick sighed and sat back in his chair, he knew where this was going. He’d heard Warwick getting ‘the talk’ more than enough times.

“Conrad kindly reminded me that lab protocol states that no two members of the same forensic team may enter into a romantic relationship together. A protocol that was set out to you both when you signed your contracts with us.”

Greg frowned again, not liking where this was going.

“Listen Gris, there’s no need to do this…”

“He wants to move you to days Nick,” Grissom told him.

“Wait, no,” Greg said when he saw the utter crestfallen look on Nick’s face, “Don’t move Nick. Move me. I work on my own so it doesn’t really matter what shift I work. But Nicky needs his team.”

“Greg, it’s fine,” Nick told him.

“No, it’s not,” Greg said, looking more serious than Nick had ever seen him before.

“No one’s moving,” Grissom told them, “I managed to argue the case with Ecklie that technically you’re not on the same team. Nick’s a CSI and Greg’s a lab tech. Nick, you collect the evidence and Greg, you analyse it. You could both work the same shift and not cross paths. And since you both do such good work, Ecklie is willing to give you both the benefit of the doubt. But if you mess up, he won’t hesitate to move one of you. Do you understand?”

“Yeah,” Greg nodded, wondering what all this meant in relation to becoming a CSI himself.

“Thanks Boss,” Nick agreed.

“Okay, Greg, you can go. Nick you stay for a moment,” Grissom said.

Greg practically jumped off his seat, “Okay, Nick I’ll uh…”

“Yeah, later,” Nick said, waiting until Greg was gone before turning back to Grissom.

Grissom took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke, “Nick, I’ve been in this job for twenty years. You’re not the first CSI I’ve worked with who’s had an alternative sexuality. So trust me when I say to you that it’s not gonna be easy when it comes to working with PD.”

Nick nodded, “I had figured as much myself.”

“I’ve had a word with Brass and he assures me that he will not tolerate any kind of homophobic behaviour towards you or Greg. Ecklie too has promised to severely punish anyone from the lab who acts in an unacceptable manner.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it,” Nick said, feeling a little bit better about working with PD, knowing that he had the backing of Brass.

“Okay, but before you go, I’ve been ordered by your team mates to ask if Greg ever shuts up?”

Nick smiled, letting himself laugh slightly, “Actually he’s a pretty peaceful sleeper,” he told him as he stood up, “If his chest didn’t rise and fall I would’ve been convinced he was a corpse.”

“Explains why he has so much energy,” Grissom said with a smile of his own, “Tell the others I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Sure thing,” Nick said, strolling out of Grissom’s office.

“Are you in big trouble?” Greg asked as he jumped out of the DNA lab to stand in front of him.

“No,” Nick said with a smile, “It’s fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. Now stop worrying your pretty little head about it and go get some work done.”

Greg smiled himself and turned back into the lab, allowing Nick to finally make his way towards the break room.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Greg had been sitting in his lab, finishing off the leftovers from day shift for over an hour now. It would be another hour or so before he got any work of his own to do and right now he was waiting for the evidence to finish processing, and so he decided to go get himself some coffee.

When he walked into the break room, he was a little surprised to see Nick sitting there.

“Hey, what you still doing here?”

“Paperwork,” Nick said as he stopped writing and looked up at him, “I have two outstanding reports and Gris says I have to finish them before I can start something else.”

“Ah, I see,” Greg said as he went to the coffee pot, threw out it’s contents and began brewing his own, “You nearly finished?” he asked.

“Almost,” Nick said, his head bent again as he wrote another couple of sentences and then, with an accomplished grin snapped the folder shut and sat back in his seat, holding up his mug to Greg for a refill, “Now I just have to wait for someone to commit a crime.”

Greg smiled and took his mug from him, sitting it next to his own as he leaned against the worktop, “So are you still okay with this?” Greg asked him.

Nick nodded, “I’m actually finding it kinda fun. Cath and Sara are just itching to quiz me about it but know they can’t with Grissom around. They interfere so much with my personal life that it’s actually kind of hilarious to see them looking completely helpless.”

“Don’t be so mean,” Greg said, “They’ll never forgive you if they find out the truth.”

Nick shrugged, “I’m a big boy, I think I can handle them.”

Shaking his head in amusement, Greg turned back to the coffee and poured him and Nick a cup. As he handed Nick his coffee, he decided to sit down next to him, not opposite him and flung his feet across his lap.

“Greg?” Nick asked as he looked down at the legs on top of his.

“Nick,” Greg said back, sipping at his coffee.

Nick raised an eyebrow at him and was about to tell him to remove his legs when Archie stormed into the break room.

“Right,” he said as he sat down opposite them, “I want details. Now.”

“Uh, what?” Nick asked.

“As Greg’s roommate and supposed best friend, everyone keeps asking me about you two and giving me a hard time when I tell them I know nothing. So please, make life easier for me and give me details.”

“Well,” Greg began but stopped when Archie held his hand up.

“It’ll be better if I record it,” he said, placing a dictaphone on the table, “Make it easier for me when I’m typing it up.”

“Please tell me you aren’t still blogging about my sex life,” Greg said with an exaggerated sigh.

“No. I’m blogging about my life, you are part of that and I want people to know the truth. Plus, if I blog about it I can just redirect everyone there instead of have them queuing at the door to my lab.”

“I’m not answering any questions on tape,” Nick said, picking up his coffee again and subconsciously resting his free hand on top of Greg’s legs.

“Why not?” Archie asked, “Are you ashamed or something?”

“No,” Nick said flatly, “Now turn the tape off.”

Archie sighed and turned it off before looking back up at them expectantly.

“Well what do you want to know?” Greg asked finally.

“When you went to Nick’s this morning, was that the first time you’d had sex or have you been sleeping with each other longer than you’ve been dating?”

“You’re kidding me right?” Nick asked.

“No.”

Greg gave a theatrical sigh before answering, “You remember about a month and a half ago when I went on that blind date and never came home?”

“Yeah,” Archie nodded then snapped his head to look at Nick, “He was the blind date?”

“No,” Greg said, “I got stood up. But Nick was there with the date from hell. When she went to the bathroom, he asked me to use my cell to page him so that he could pretend he had to go to work. When he left, I left with him, we went to another bar, then back to Nick’s and well… you get the idea.”

“Really?” Archie asked, a smile on his lips now, “So then you decided to start dating?”

“More or less,” Greg said with a nod.

Turning to Nick, Archie let the smile fall from his face as he got serious, “So, is it all just about sex for you or do you actually care about him?”

“What kind of question is that?” Nick asked, looking horrified, “Of course I care about him.”

“Oh, so the sex isn’t that good then?”

“That is none of your business,” Nick told him, thanking the gods when his pager went off, “Oh would you look at that, I got a 419 out in Henderson,” he added as he stood, “I would love to stay and chat Archie, but duty calls.”

Picking up his finished reports, he put them under his arm before bending down and giving Greg a small kiss on the lips, “I’ll catch you later Babe.”

Greg nodded, “Remember what I said about the police officers, if they give you a hard time.”

“I know,” Nick nodded, “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

As he made to walk out of the room, Archie spoke once more, “When you get back, come see me. We still have to have that, you hurt him, I hurt you talk.”

“Sure,” Nick said with a shake of his head, thankful to just get out of there. Archie was beginning to scare him a bit.

“Was that really necessary?” Greg asked once Nick was gone.

“Greg, I’ve stood back and watched you get hurt more times than I can count. I won’t do it again.”

“Arch, you don’t have to protect me. I’m a grown man.”

“Yeah, and you’re also my best friend,” Archie said as he stood, “Just tell me you’re happy.”

“I’m happy,” Greg said with a nod.

“And if he hurts you?”

“I promise to let you beat him up.”

“Good,” Archie said with a nod, “Now, the girls want to know so I have to ask, how good is he?”

~*~*~*~*~*~

When Nick arrived at the scene he was slightly touched to see Grissom standing waiting for him, ready to protect him from what ever remarks the officers might make.

“You finish your reports?” Grissom asked him.

“On your desk, waiting to be signed off,” Nick told him with a nod as he began to follow him into the house.

He wasn’t sure if it was actually happening or if he was just imagining it, but he was sure that he was being stared at by everyone there. That couldn’t possibly be true though. He had to be imagining it. But still, it put him a little on edge.

Detective Lockwood led them into the house, not even looking at Nick differently as he explained the situation, which made Nick feel at ease slightly. When they saw the son’s room, he couldn’t help but think that it probably looked a lot like what Greg’s room had looked like as a boy. In fact, his room probably still looked the same. He supposed he’d find out soon.

“Does Greg know how you feel about science geeks?” Grissom asked him with a smile as they made their way to the master bedroom.

“He knows how I feel about him if that’s what you’re asking,” Nick said, making Grissom’s eyes light up slightly.

When they stepped into the bedroom, David was there, doing his thing, explaining his findings to them both and standing back to allow them to take their photographs and answering their questions. When Grissom went to go outside to speak to the husband and call in David’s assistant, David turned to Nick.

“I hear a congratulations is in order,” he said.

Nick rolled his eyes, “We’re dating, not getting married,” he told him as he started to look around the room.

“True, but Doc Robbins and I have been worried about you for some time. It’s not good to spend so much time on your own. We’re both very happy for you.”

Nick turned to look at David, feeling slightly touched by the sincerity in his voice not to mention face. He really was one of the sweetest guys you could meet and he was the first person that Nick actually felt bad about lying to, “Thanks,” he said quietly, “That means a lot.”

“What are friends for if not to support you?” David asked.

Nick nodded, “You’ve been seeing your girlfriend a while now right?” he asked.

“Four months,” David told him, “Why?”

“Maybe we could double date or something,” he said, “I’d like to meet the girl that finally managed to tame the elusive David Phillips.”

David smiled at that, “Sure. I’d like to properly meet Greg too. I’ve only ever seen him in passing before.”

“He’ll probably be full of morbid questions for you,” Nick said, “So prepare yourself.”

“Will do,” David said just as his assistant and Lockwood stepped back into the room.

As they began to move the body, Nick turned and began to investigate the room again, looking for some sort of clue as to what had gone on here.

After the body was gone, Grissom had yet to return and so Nick just carried on processing the room, aware of Lockwood watching them. However, it wasn’t until he had pulled a sample of charcoal from the fire place, and stuck his head up the chimney to find the dampener broken that Lockwood finally dropped all pretence of being interested in Nick’s findings.

“Stokes, I don’t know if you know, but there’s a rumour going about that you’re gay,” he said quietly.

“Is there?” Nick asked, pocketing his sample and lifting up his camera to take pictures of inside the chimney.

“You’re not are you?” Lockwood asked him.

“No. I’m not,” Nick said before bending back over to take his pictures.

Lockwood was silent for a moment before he spoke again, “It’s just that, everyone’s saying you’re dating some Swedish guy from the lab.”

Nick couldn’t help but smile at that. Greg would have a fit if he knew that people were calling him Swedish.

“Actually, he’s of Norwegian descent,” he said as he crawled back out of the fireplace, “Born and raised in California. And he’s the supervisor of the DNA lab.”

Lockwood looked absolutely shocked, “But you just said…”

“I’m not gay,” Nick told him, “But I never said I was straight either.”

“Oh,” Lockwood said, “Well. I uh, I should go make sure everything outside is under control.”

“You do that,” Nick said with a smile, actually finding it rather funny at the speed that Lockwood ran out at.

He was only gone for a couple of minutes before Grissom appeared, “What’s up with Lockwood?”

Nick just shrugged, “Who knows,” he said before turning to Grissom and informing him of his findings.

~*~*~*~*~*~

As Nick walked back into the lab, Greg heard him before he saw him. He was discussing his case with Grissom. Something about smoke inhalation. Whatever it was, Grissom cut him off, taking some of the evidence off him.

“I’ll take these to Hodges, you take those to Greg then meet me in my office so we can go over this,” he said before walking away from Nick.

Nick didn’t think anything of it and carried on his way to the DNA lab, coming in the a few samples for Greg.

“Hey,” he said with a smile.

“How was your dead body?” Greg asked him as he pulled off the gloves he’d been using to process Catherine and Warrick’s evidence.

“Pink,” Nick told him.

Greg smiled, realising now why they were talking about smoke inhalation, “I see. And what’s this?”

“Blood samples,” Nick told him, “One’s from the DB, the other is from the husband, who survived.”

“Let me guess, you want me to run a tox screen on them?” Greg asked.

“Please,” Nick nodded.

“You know, I can’t keep doing both the DNA samples and the tox samples,” Greg said as he picked up the samples and put them onto the worktop he’d reserved for tox screening, “You need to hire someone else.”

“Greg, I’m just the messenger,” Nick said, “Talk to Gris about it, or better still, talk to Ecklie. You are the supervisor in here, it is your job.”

Greg rolled his eyes, “Hardly a supervisor. There are only two other DNA techs. And besides, Ecklie hardly listens to me when it comes to equipment and sampling techniques. You think he’ll listen to me about this?”

Nick sighed, “Fine, I’ll have a word with Grissom. Maybe he can speak to Ecklie about it.”

“Thanks,” Greg said, “I appreciate it,” he added.

“Sure, I gotta go meet up with Grissom, I’ll catch you later.”

“Nick, wait,” Greg said just before be stepped out of the lab.

“Yeah?”

“How did it go?” Greg asked him, “With PD I mean.”

“Oh. It went okay. A couple of them looked at me a bit weird but as far as I’m aware none of them know anything for sure. It’s all just a rumour at the moment,” Nick explained.

“So no one said anything?”

“Well, Detective Lockwood asked me about the rumour I was dating some Swedish guy.”

Greg’s jaw dropped in mock horror, “Well I hope you told him that I am not Swedish,” he said.

Nick couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t worry, I told him. But to be honest, I think it’s the whole ‘guy’ thing that concerns them, not your heritage.”

Greg stared at him for a moment, “But he didn’t react badly or anything?”

“No. It was fine Greg. Stop worrying.”

Greg nodded, “Okay, but if you want to stop this at any time, you know you just…”

“I’ll let you know,” Nick said, smiling at him again as he finally turned and left.

After his meeting with Grissom, Nick relocated to the break room where he sat down with one of the chemistry books in there to see if he could try and figure out what variables had effected the wife more than the husband. And that’s where Warrick found him.

“Well if it isn’t Don Jaun,” he said as he made to pour himself some coffee.

Nick snorted in amusement, “You talking about yourself again Rick?”

Warrick smiled, “So you gonna tell me what the hell is going on with you and Greg?”

Nick shrugged, “Not much to tell.”

“Well you could clear up the whole gay thing for a start,” Warrick said as he sat down.

“I’m not gay,” Nick told him.

“So you’re bi?” Warrick asked, to which Nick nodded, “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

Nick shrugged, “No one needed to know before,” he told him, “A lot of people find it difficult to deal with someone they’re close to coming out of the closet. I didn’t want to put anyone through that kind of distress unnecessarily.”

Warrick frowned, “So what’s different about this time? You and Greg in love or something?” he asked seriously.

Nick couldn’t help but laugh, “Technically, we haven’t actually told anyone. If Hodges hadn’t gone and asked Greg out, then Greg wouldn’t have had to tell him that he was dating someone and then Hodges wouldn’t have spread the rumour and Cath wouldn’t have put two and two together.”

“And you two would still be living in secret,” Warrick finished, “Weren’t you miserable, hiding your affection from each other?”

“You’ve dated girls from the lab right?” Nick asked to which Warrick nodded, “And each time it never lasted very long. Why?”

“It was like living in a fish bowl. People kept watching us, wanting to know the latest gossip. There was too much pressure.”

“Exactly,” Nick said. He watched as realisation dawned on Warrick. He didn’t like lying to him either, but he had been pestering Nick to get back out there and start dating again for a while and so he was just thankful to get him off his back.

“Okay, well, I just hope your happy man and that it works out.”

“Thanks,” Nick said, “Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to go see if my trace results are back yet.”

“Hodges page you?” Warrick asked.

“No,” Nick said, “But I doubt he would anyway. We’re not exactly talking at the moment,” he added before picking up his file and heading out of the room.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

“What the hell?” Nick asked as he sat up in fright.

“It’s just Mandy,” Greg said sleepily.

“Mandy? What?” Nick was so confused. If that was Mandy, then how the hell was it humanly possible for her to make that noise, not to mention, what the hell was she doing in Greg’s apartment at… he checked the clock… four thirty in the morning?

Greg sighed and sat up, “She’s dating Archie,” he explained, “It’s why she was moved to days. And when she has a drink in her, she gets a bit loud.”

Nick frowned as he realised what the noise was, “You’re kidding? You mean they’re…”

“I’m sure if they knew you were here, they would probably try to keep it down a notch. But I’m used to it so…” he shrugged and lay back down.

“How the hell can you sleep through that?” Nick asked.

“Used to it I guess,” Greg said as he rolled over.

Nick lay back down and rubbed his tired eyes. He and Greg had both had the night off and had decided that since they were a ‘couple’ that it would be best they acted like one. They had went to a movie and then got some Chinese on the way home. Home to Greg’s that is.

It had been nearly three weeks and they had yet to ‘spend the night’ at Greg’s and so they decided that it was about time they did. Nick had been a bit worried about Archie being there as he knew he had the night off too, but Greg had told him that he’d be out with his girlfriend most of the night and so shouldn’t worry about it. And so he hadn’t, until now.

Now, he couldn’t help but worry about crossing paths with Mandy in the morning, her knowing smile and dirty insinuations. He’d gotten enough of them after the hickey and a small mention of Greg’s tattoo. Archie had been way more subtle in his discussions with him. But Mandy had no use for tact and was rather proud of it too. And with the sounds coming from across the hall, he just couldn’t get the image of the two of them out of his head and it was not only freaking him out, but it was keeping him awake too.

“Look, if it’s bothering you so much, why don’t you watch some television? Drown them out?” Greg mumbled into his pillow.

“Yeah. Think I might,” Nick said with a nod as he flung back the bed sheets and made his way down the hall.

Luckily, the door to the living drowned out the noise coming from Archie’s bedroom more than Greg’s bedroom door did and the kitchen door even more so again. He turned on the radio, keeping it low but enough to distort any other noises and decided to make himself some hot milk.

If he was honest with himself, now that he was awake, he couldn’t see himself going back to sleep anytime soon. And even though he had only managed to get home from work at two in the afternoon yesterday, his internal body clock just wouldn’t let him sleep while it was still dark outside.

As he grabbed a clean pot from the rack above the island in the middle of the kitchen, he checked the clock on the oven and realised it would probably only be around another hour or so before the sun came up and his body would actually allow him to fall back asleep again.

Pouring the milk into the pan he listened to the music the radio was playing. It was tuned into some alternative station, the kind of music both Greg and Archie enjoyed. He knew that Greg liked really loud heavy metal, but it wasn’t the only kind of music he enjoyed. He had surprised Nick when driving them to work one night by playing some sort of mellow, acoustic folkie stuff. Nick had actually enjoyed it so much that he’d borrowed the CD off of Greg, much to his amusement. But as versatile as his music taste was, he still liked to play his rock music when he worked and the song that was on the radio just now was one of his favourites. And Nick couldn’t stop himself from humming along to it.

“I didn’t know you liked Korn.”

Nick looked up to see Mandy standing there in a baggy t-shirt and a pair of what he assumed were Archie’s boxers, her hair tied back and face a little flushed.

“Greg’s a bad influence,” he said, trying not to get embarrassed, thankful that he had chosen to sleep in a t-shirt and pyjama pants last night.

“Sooo,” she said as she walked towards the sink, filling a glass of water, “You guys aren’t staying at yours then?”

“No,” he said as he turned off the heat and grabbed a mug, “We decided to stay here tonight.”

Mandy nodded, “We didn’t hear you when we came in,” she said, “Usually, Greg’s pretty loud. Although you probably noticed that yourself by now right?”

Nick blushed, realising that they would probably have to fake sex if they ever stayed here at the same time as them again, which of course would be extremely embarrassing, “We uh, we were asleep,” he explained.

“Oh,” she said before her eyes went wide, “Oh. Oh my God! I totally woke you up didn’t I?”

Nick found himself smiling at her, “Don’t worry about it,” he told her, “It’s not the first time that’s happened to me. I’m a pretty light sleeper.”

“Still, I’m so sorry. I just get a little carried away you know.”

“Mandy, seriously. It’s fine,” he reassured her as he sat down at the island, “So, you and Archie huh?”

Mandy frowned as she sat down opposite him, “You didn’t know?”

Nick shook his head, “Greg just said Archie was out with his girlfriend. I had no idea that his girlfriend was actually you,” he explained, “So how long’s that been going on for?”

“About eight months I guess,” she said, “It’s the reason me and Jackie got swapped about, you know the stupid rule.”

Nick nodded, “But you guys have been okay? I mean you’ve managed to keep it going even with the opposite shifts?”

“Yeah, I mean, I’m not gonna lie, there have been a few times when we nearly gave up, but we care about each other too much. Plus, we’re lucky in that Grissom always organises Archie’s shifts so that he has a night off before my day off, or he has it after. That way we get to spend a whole twenty four hours together at least twice a week.”

“Grissom really does that?” Nick asked in surprise.

Mandy nodded, “I know everyone says he has no people skills and that’s why he’s still single, but if you ask me, I think he’s just an old romantic at heart and that he’s waiting for his one true love to come along.”

“Makes sense I suppose,” he nodded.

“Why you worried about you and Greg getting split up?” she asked him curiously.

“A bit,” he lied. What he was more worried about was Greg becoming a CSI. He’d recently been asking Nick more and more about what it was like, not to mention he’d offered more than once to help out in the field. And if Greg did become a CSI, he wanted him to get the opportunity to train under Grissom, like he did. But if they were ‘dating’ that might not happen. He might not even get the offer.

“You guys will be fine,” Mandy told him, “You care about each other way too much for you not to be,” Nick raised his eyebrows at her, “From the minute you guys met, I knew you were meant to be together. There was always this connection between you. And I wasn’t the only one that saw it.”

“A connection?” Nick asked with confusion.

“Oh yeah. You could’ve cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife. Me and a couple of the other girls actually had a pool going to see how long it would take you guys to get together… none of us thought it would take this long, but I’m glad you both finally got your act together. And if Grissom is the romantic I think he is, he won’t split you up.”

“Hey, babe. Where’s my water, I’m dying here…” Archie froze in the doorway to the kitchen, naked as the day he was born and seemingly unaware of the fact, “Nick, what are you doing here?” he asked as he stretched his hands above his head.

“I was sleeping,” he said, doing his best to keep eye contact with Archie, even though a part of him was eager to find out what had made Mandy scream the way she had.

“Cool,” he said with a nod, before reaching out and taking hold of Mandy’s hand, “Come on, the bed’s getting cold,” he told her.

“Well, that’s my cue. Night Nick.”

“Yeah night Mandy, Archie,” he said as he sipped down the last of his milk.

“Night dude,” Archie said, waving his hand as he disappeared with Mandy.

Nick shook his head. He knew that Archie was a bit of a hippy, he just didn’t expect him to be the kind of guy who was into naturism. Rinsing out his glass, and putting the pot in the dish washer, he decided to go back to bed. He didn’t want to chance another sighting of Archie.

When he crawled back under the bed sheets, he noticed that Greg was fast asleep. Propping himself up on his elbow, he thought back onto what Mandy had been saying. Had there actually been sexual tension between them or had they all just thought there had cause they’d all known Greg was gay? And sure they’d had a connection, they’d become close friends fast because they… well they didn’t have a lot in common, but they had a similar sense of humour and were both interested forensics, and they were both Greeks so there was that. Didn’t mean that their connection was sexual though.

Nick had never denied that he had had certain ‘thoughts’ about men throughout his life. Thoughts mostly consisting of; ‘that man is really beautiful’, ‘he has gorgeous eyes’, ‘I really like his aftershave’. But he had never once acted upon them. He had thought them to be normal thoughts that every guy had. Like his sisters. He had overheard them talking to each other about how a certain female movie star looked gorgeous at that awards show, that she had a wonderful figure and was undeniably sexy. So it was only natural that guys have those thoughts about other guys right?

Sighing he lay down on his back, trying to remember if he had ever had those thoughts about Greg. He had. Of course he had. Greg was a gorgeous guy. Everyone had probably had thoughts like that about him. But as he closed his eyes and remembered Greg’s brilliant smile, he frowned slightly as he realised that, that smile made him feel something else. Something deep inside him. But what, he wasn’t too sure.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Nick woke up as he felt movement to his right. Opening his eyes he saw that even though the heavy curtains were shut tight, it was light outside.

“Hey,” Greg said through a yawn as he saw him awake.

“Hey,” Nick said with a nod, smiling slightly at the dopey look in Greg’s eyes as he took his time waking up.

“You stay up for long last night?” he asked as he turned to face him, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

“Nah,” Nick said with a shake of his head, “Had an enlightening conversation with Mandy and got to see Archie naked. All in all, it was rather eventful.”

“Please tell me he wasn’t walking about in the nude again,” Greg said with a moan.

“He was,” Nick told him, “He do that a lot?”

“No. Only when vodka is involved. God they must have been wasted.”

“Actually I think Mandy was pretty sober…”

“You’d think that. But where others lose the ability to remain coherent she becomes even more so. It’s really weird.”

“Oh. It would explain why she was so open about certain things.”

Greg was about to ask what things when he heard the landline ring in the living room. When Mandy stayed over she and Archie were usually up by now and so he shouldn’t have to answer it and sure enough, after a couple of rings he heard Archie’s deep voice saying hello. Happy that he wouldn’t have to get up he turned back to Nick. But then he heard Archie’s deep voice again.

“If you’ll just hold on I’ll go see if he’s awake.”

“Quick,” Greg said as he pulled off his t-shirt, “Take your shirt off.”

“What? Why?” Nick asked as Greg grabbed it and yanked it over his head.

“I’ll tell you later now kiss me,” he said as he jumped on top of Nick and lowered his lips to his. As he did so, he subconsciously knocked his own ‘morning’ wood against Nick’s, making Nick gasp into the kiss.

His body working on automatic, feeling Nick’s mouth open up beneath his own, Greg pushed his tongue inside, deepening the kiss and making Nick moan slightly.

“Oh good your up,” Archie said as he opened the door.

Greg removed his mouth from Nick’s with a loud pop, leaving Nick breathless and confused underneath him.

“Who is it?” he asked.

“Your Mom,” Archie said holding out the phone.

“I’ll call her back later,” Greg said, Archie raised an eyebrow at him, “Go away, I’m busy,” he added.

Archie just grinned and stepped back out the room, explaining to Mrs Sanders that Greg wasn’t available at the moment as he closed the door over.

“I’m sorry,” Greg said as he looked back down at Nick, “But he’s been asking loads of questions, trying to say that we’re not really a couple.”

Nick cleared his throat, “But we’re not really a couple,” he said quietly, licking his lips slightly as he remembered the feel of Greg’s tongue inside his mouth.

“Yeah I know, but well… at least now he’ll back off a little. And uh, I’m sorry about the tongue. I wasn’t really thinking straight.”

“It’s okay,” Nick told him, finally dropping his hands from where they’d been resting on Greg’s waist, “Wasn’t like it was a bad kiss or anything.”

Greg smiled as he rolled off of Nick, bumping their ‘morning’ wood together again, “And uh, sorry about that.”

Nick cleared his throat again, “Don’t apologise, it’s a natural reaction. Frankly I’d be worried if it didn’t happen.”

Greg nodded, thankful that Nick was being so understanding, although he could sense that he was feeling a little bit uncomfortable now. He had a feeling that they wouldn’t be staying here for a while, which was a shame since his bed was way more comfier than that stupid fold out sofa bed in Nick’s study. Maybe he could persuade him to let him share his bed, after all it wasn’t like he’d acted inappropriately in their first time sharing a bed… well, not entirely.

As Nick sat up and pulled on his t-shirt he did his best not to look at Greg. That whole debacle had really confused him. He’d actually enjoyed the feeling of Greg’s… of Greg against himself. But then, it had been a while since he’d been touched by anyone other than himself. And that kiss. He hadn’t been kissed like that in a long, long time if ever. Greg had kissed him as if he’d owned him, as if he was his to be kissed and he wasn’t taking no for an answer and Nick had enjoyed it. He hadn’t wanted it to stop, and that really freaked him out. Cause if Greg was the one to take charge of the kiss then… well he didn’t really want to think about that.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“So,” Catherine said as they headed back to the lab, car full of robots, “You watch these ‘robot wars’ a lot?”

Nick smiled slightly, “No. Greg does.”

And it was true. Greg made him watch the sci fi channel all the time. They would take turns flicking back and forward from that to animal planet.

“Apparently, him and a few of the other lab techs were gonna build their own and enter some competition. But it fell through. None of them could agree on a design.”

“You’re kidding?” Catherine asked, laughing slightly.

“Wish I was,” Nick said. And it was true. There was only so much geekiness he could take. He was fearing that he was turning into one himself.

“So what’s up with Greg tonight anyways?” she asked again, “You two have a fight?”

“No,” Nick said with a frown, “Why?”

Catherine shrugged, “He just seems a bit quiet tonight, like he has a lot on his mind.”

“Oh, well he was on the phone to his Mom earlier. It might have something to do with that. I’ll talk to him, find out what’s eating him,” he said, although deep down he knew it was the kiss that was bothering him. It was still bothering Nick himself.

After they had both ventured out of the bedroom for coffee and something to eat, Greg had more or less tip toed around Nick the entire afternoon as if he was worried that he’d over stepped the mark. Even Archie and Mandy noticed it although they wisely said nothing. Deciding to just observe them instead.

When Nick had said that he was gonna head home, get a quick change of clothes and check his answer machine, Greg had just nodded solemnly and walked him to the door. Now whenever the two of them parted ways while someone else was around, they always kissed each other goodbye, only this time they both stood there for what felt like an eternity trying to decide what to do. Eventually though, Nick bit the bullet and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Greg’s cheek before turning about and leaving.

And since then, he hadn’t had the chance to talk to Greg properly. He’d waved at him from the other side of the lab as he made his way in to work, but no words had been spoken, so he could only guess what was actually up with him.

However, it wasn’t to be. As soon as he and Catherine got back to the lab, they were swarmed by the lab techs trying to get a good look at the robots.

“Guys, this is evidence,” Nick told them as he pushed them all back out of the garage, “You can’t just come in and ‘have a go’.”

“Would you let Greg have a go?” Hodges asked him.

“No,” Nick said.

“Why not?”

“Cause that would be unprofessional,” he said as if explaining to a child.

The lab techs pouted as the doors were closed on them, Nick letting out a sigh of relief that he was finally able to shut them out, while Sara, who was helping him now that Catherine had gone off to talk to Grissom, was grinning like an idiot. Nick shook his head at her and was just about to start processing the machines when there was a commotion outside the door. Looking up, he saw that Greg had come over and all the techs were shouting at him and pushing him up against the door, obviously trying to get him to go in and use his ‘relationship’ with Nick to their advantage.

Greg for his part looked reluctant to do so, but eventually gave in and pushed the doors open to get away from them.

“Hey,” he said as he closed them again and leaned back.

“The answer is no Greg,” Nick told him.

Greg sighed, “Yeah, well I had to ask,” he said, “Archie said he would tell everyone what he walked in on earlier if I didn’t.”

“What? You mean, he walked in on us kissing?” Nick asked, noticing that Greg blushed slightly as he nodded, “Well you tell him that if he does, I’ll just tell everyone what I witnessed in the kitchen last night. And that ain’t nothing to be proud of.”

Greg smiled slightly before looking down at the robots, “So what’s the deal with these anyway? Why are they here?”

“We think that one of them was used to kill our victim,” Sara said.

“Really?” Greg asked as he scrunched up his face, trying not to imagine the blood and gore that it could create, “That’s… interesting.”

“Yeah well, the longer you lot keep hovering about, the longer it’s gonna take us to decipher which one was used as the weapon,” Nick said just as the others outside started knocking on the door. Greg turned to look at them before turning back to Nick and sighing.

“I apologise in advance for this, but if I don’t do it then they’ll never let me forget it,” he said as he stepped forward.

“Do what?” Nick asked with a frown.

Greg stopped in front of him and slid his arms around Nick’s neck, pulling himself close so that their bodies were lined up perfectly, “They want me to threaten you with lack of sex, and this is to remind you what you will be missing.”

Deciding to play the part, Nick settled his hands on Greg’s waist and pulled him even closer so that he could whisper in his ear, but loud enough for Sara to here, “And what if I remind you of what you’ll be missing?” he asked.

All Greg was able to do was raise an eyebrow in surprise. Nick smiled at his reaction and just as he saw Greg about to say something, he leaned forward and captured his mouth in his own in a deep and passionate kiss. Greg all but melted against him as he allowed Nick to hold him tight and kiss him within an inch of his life. He hadn’t been expecting that at all and was powerless to fight against him.

As Nick pulled back he smiled wickedly at Greg. God! If he thought the kiss when they had woken up had been good, then that was downright fucking amazing. Not to mention, he’d been able to control it so it looks like Greg’s little theory might be out the window.

“You should probably go back to work now,” Nick told him as he let go.

“What?” Greg asked, “Oh, work. Right,” he said with a nod as he dropped his arms from Nick’s neck and turned to leave.

“Greg,” Nick called just before he opened the door where a bunch of very stunned scientists were standing.

“Yeah?” Greg asked.

“We’ll talk later okay,” Nick said, deadly serious.

Greg nodded and headed back out into the lab, his co-workers quickly following him to find out just what the hell had happened in there and how could he give in so easily.

“Wow,” Sara said once they were all gone, “You know, it’s times like these I wish I carried a camera on me.”

Nick laughed slightly, trying to hide his embarrassment, he had kind of forgotten she was there.

“Thank God for security cameras,” she said, pointing to the camera above her head that was pointed right at Nick.

Nick groaned in frustration, “That’s gonna end up on the internet isn’t it?”

Sarah grinned, “It’s highly probable.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“So, I heard Grissom had you out in the field,” Nick said as he drove Greg home. He would be dropping him off before going back to his own apartment and own bed.

“Yeah,” Greg nodded, “It was kinda scary, but kinda cool at the same time.”

Nick smiled, “I also heard that you told him you wanted to become a CSI.”

Greg cleared his throat, “Well, it seems more interesting than just testing DNA all day.”

Nick frowned slightly, “I thought you loved your job.”

”I do,” Greg said, “Kinda. I just… I can’t see me doing it for the rest of my life. I’m a thinker and I like to learn new things all the time. I can process a DNA sample in my sleep. It’s starting to become extremely tedious and slightly soul shattering.”

“I didn’t realise that was how you felt,” Nick said as he pulled into Greg’s street, “I can have a word if you want. Maybe get Grissom to involve you in more field work. I mean it might be a bit difficult with us, you know…”

“Thanks. But it’s okay. Sara already said he probably wouldn’t start training me properly until a position was made available and even then, by the time that happens we should have broken up.”

“Okay. I’ll have a word anyway,” Nick said as he pulled over, “It’s the least I can do. In the meantime, don’t let the lab get to you. It makes everyone worry when you’re not your usual happy self.”

Greg couldn’t help but smile at that. He had noticed how the entire lab seemed to have been a bit subdued last night.

“Right well, I better go get some sleep,” Greg said, “I’ll see you later.”

“Greg wait,” Nick said before he could escape, “Do you mind if I come up the stairs for a bit? I think we should maybe talk.”

“About what?”

“We broke one of the rules.”

Greg looked at him in utter confusion.

“We kissed Greg. With tongues. Twice.”

Greg smiled. He had been wondering when they would talk about that, “Nick, it didn’t mean anything,” he said, “Or at least it didn’t when I kissed you. That’s just how I would normally kiss a guy who was lying underneath me.”

“Oh right. Okay.”

“Why? Did it mean something when you kissed me?” Greg asked curiously.

“What? No. I just… I was just sort of playing along.”

Greg wasn’t sure he believed him, but let it drop anyway as Archie had just got out of his car and he didn’t want him to see Nick freaking out, “Okay. Are we cool?”

Nick sighed, “Yeah G. We’re cool. You want me to pick you up tonight?” he asked, waving to Archie.

“Nah, it’s good. My car should be fixed by this afternoon and if it’s not I’ll just get a ride with Archie.”

Nick nodded, “Okay,” he said wondering just why Greg was moving towards him and not climbing out the car, “What are you doing?”

“He’s watching us,” Greg said as his eyes darted to where Archie was waiting for him.

“Oh. Okay,” Nick said, leaning in to kiss Greg softly.

But as he kissed him, he found himself unable to control his hand as it reached up and cupped Greg’s face, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss, breaking the rule again.

Greg didn’t fight against him. He knew he probably should to prevent Nick from panicking, but Nick was a big boy and if he wanted to kiss Greg within an inch of his life then who was he to stop him. In fact, he couldn’t help but encourage him a little, kissing him back just as hard, his hand settling on Nick’s waist and gently working it’s way up under his jacket to caress his back as he slid even closer himself.

Nick wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he knew he was enjoying it. Greg kissed better than anyone he had ever kissed before. And sure, the slight burn of stubble and the masculine scent coming from him was new, but it didn’t feel wrong like he had thought it would, it just intrigued him.

Because of the weird angle they were both sitting at, when he leaned forward his hand automatically rested on Greg’s thigh, which in itself wasn’t something to worry about, but when he felt the compulsion to move it up he knew he had to stop things.

Pulling back, he rested his forehead on Greg’s as they both panted for breath. Greg, for once was lost for words. That kiss had definitely meant something. They sat like that for what felt like hours before he finally regained his ability to speak, “You uh, you wanna come up and talk about this?” Greg asked him.

Nick glanced down at where his hand was still on Greg’s lap and back up before answering, “No,” he said softly, “No. I should go,” he added as he removed both his hands from Greg and pulled back, “I’ll see you later.”

Greg cleared his throat and nodded, “Yeah. Later.”

Nick sat and watched as Greg made his way into his building, Archie grinning like and idiot and clapping him on the back as he did so. Archie walked in first and just before Greg disappeared inside, he looked back at Nick, giving him a small smile.

When he was gone, Nick let his head fall onto the steering wheel with a frustrated and confused sigh. What the hell was happening to him?

 

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Nick yawned as he made his way to the break room to await his assignment for the night. He hadn’t slept much during the day, his brain going a million miles an hour as he tried to figure out just what the hell was up with him and why he was enjoying kissing Greg so much.

His first thought was that maybe yeah, he was attracted to guys. But then he dismissed it as surely he would’ve realised that before now. And if that was the case then he would be attracted to other guys, not just Greg right?

He knew he was attracted to him, that he couldn’t deny. He’d enjoyed kissing him way too much and had almost went with him up into his apartment to finish what he had started. But if he was attracted to Greg and wanted to do… things with him, then surely that meant he was gay or at least bisexual.

He kept going round and round in circles thinking the same thoughts over and over before finally getting up out of bed and going online. He hadn’t been sure what he’d been looking for until he stumbled across some pornographic images of two gay men. It had sparked something in him and so he’d carried on looking until he decided to search for some actual gay porn and see if that did anything for him.

It had. Once he started watching it he couldn’t stop. Of course he’d seen hetero porn before but there was something about the men in the porn he was watching that had him transfixed and unable to turn it off. As he watched it, he took many mental notes of things that he hadn’t realised he had to do, of things he didn’t want to try and things he definitely wanted to try.

Only problem was, now that he had all this new found curiosity (that’s what he was calling it just now) he had no way to go out and experiment as he was supposedly dating Greg. And so that left him with the question of whether or not to approach Greg about this.

Would he be offended? Would he laugh at him? Was he even attracted to him? He had so many questions and no way to answer them.

“Hey,” he said to the others as he stepped into the break room and headed straight for the coffee, “Grissom been in yet?”

“No, we’re still waiting,” Catherine told him.

Nick nodded and sat down in his seat, yawning again.

“You having trouble sleeping Nick?” Warrick asked.

“Nah. Just had a lot to think about,” Nick said, picking up his coffee to sip at it.

Just then Greg walked in, nodding to them all as he too made for the coffee pot. Nick noticed how he looked like he hadn’t slept much either and wondered if it was for the same reason.

“Hey,” Nick said as he leaned back in his chair and grabbed Greg’s hand gently, “You alright?”

Greg looked down at their hands before nodding, “Just tired. I didn’t really sleep.”

Nick nodded back before dropping his hand and standing up. He knew the others were staring at them and would no doubt ask questions later about why they were both so miserable, but he didn’t really care just now.

As Greg turned to face him he moved as close as he could so he could speak quietly without the whole lab hearing.

“I think we need to talk,” he said, “Properly this time.”

“Yeah,” Greg nodded, “I was thinking the same. This is, it’s getting…”

“Complicated?” Nick asked to which Greg gave a small smile, “Well for what it’s worth, I don’t really mind complicated,” he added as he stroked a gentle finger down the side of his face.

Greg looked at him in surprise but was unable to say anything as Nick planted a soft kiss on his lips. This was so very complicated.

“I’ll take you to breakfast okay?”

Greg sighed, “Okay,” he said before turning back to his coffee. Nick smiled at the back of his head before sitting back down, three pairs of curious eyes staring at him.

However luckily for him, Grissom walked in and began handing out assignments. He partnered up Nick with Warrick for a B & E out in Summerlin. As Nick made his way out of the lab with his partner for the night, he couldn’t help but notice Greg watching him, his face screwed up into a frown of concentration, obviously trying to figure out just what the hell was going on in Nick’s head.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“So,” Warrick said as they drove to their scene.

“I know what you’re gonna ask,” Nick interrupted, “And all I’m saying is that it’s complicated okay?”

“Complicated?” Warrick asked, “How?”

Nick sighed, “It just is.”

Warrick snorted in amusement, “You know, I always figured that things would be simple with two guys because, you know, you’re guys.”

“Yeah, well, I wish it was.”

Both men were silent for a moment before Warrick spoke again, “You’re not breaking up are you?”

“No,” Nick said, “At least I don’t think so. We just… part of it has to do with Greg wanting to become a CSI. He’s miserable in the lab,” he said. He knew that technically he was lying, but it was also kind of the truth so he didn’t feel too bad, “But if it comes down to it, I’ll move to swing or days and let Greg train under Gris.”

“You’d really do that for him?” Warrick asked in surprise.

“Course I would,” Nick said as if Warrick was simple, “Why wouldn’t I?”

Warrick shrugged, “I just never imagined you to willingly volunteer to move,” he admitted.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter at the moment anyways. Ecklie needs to approve a position before Greg can apply for it. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Sighing slightly and hoping that everything worked out for Nick and Greg, Warrick pulled into the side of the road behind the patrol car, “Let’s get to work then shall we?”

Nick nodded and climbed out after him, grabbing his case from the trunk and following Warrick towards the house. There was a uniformed officer standing outside and he nodded to Warrick, “Alright Brown. Vega’s inside getting a statement,” he said, steadfastly ignoring Nick.

Warrick frowned at him, but Nick shook his head slightly and forced him inside.

“Please don’t tell me you’re just going to take that?” Warrick asked him in disbelief.

Nick sighed, “Look, that’s nothing. I’d rather be ignored that have them saying something that we would all regret.”

“Yeah but Nick…”

“Rick, just leave it okay. It’s fine,” Nick said to him as he pushed the door to the kitchen open where he could hear Detective Vega talking with the homeowner.

Warrick shook his head. Nick might not say anything about it, but that kind of behaviour insulted him. He knew what it was like to be treated like dirt just cause you were different. And so he would be having a word with Brass about it, whether Nick liked it or not.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Congratulations,” Greg said to Nick as he handed over his results, “It’s a boy.”

Nick frowned as he looked down at the sheet of paper in his hands, Warrick looking over his shoulder.

“Her son?” Warrick asked.

“Yup,” Greg nodded.

“There was no evidence of a son in the house,” Nick said, eyebrows knitted together in thought.

“Well I guess you better go speak to her,” Greg said, “And don’t frown so much. It ruins your pretty face.”

Nick snapped his head up to look at Greg, face softening and frown lines disappearing.

“Much better,” Greg told him with a smile, which Nick couldn’t help but return.

“Okay Romeo,” Warrick said, “If you wanna finish before the end of shift I suggest we get going.”

“What?” Nick asked as he finally broke eye contact with Greg to look at Warrick. He’d been aware of him speaking but hadn’t been able to make out a word, too lost in those dark pools that Greg called eyes.

“I said, let’s go,” Warrick repeated as he put a hand under his elbow and started to guide him out of there.

“See you later,” Greg said with a grin as Warrick dragged Nick away.

Shaking his head he went back to tidying up. He had nothing better to do for the time being and so cleaning it was. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on with him and Nick, but there was definite attraction there, on both their parts.

I mean, if you didn’t count the kisses, his demeanour tonight screamed lust and Greg would’ve had to have been blind not to see it. And when you did add the kisses to that, well Greg had no doubt in his mind that Nick wanted him. And he had to admit, that he wouldn’t mind falling into bed with Nick either. He was gorgeous after all, and a fantastic kisser. Greg knew he was the envy of many of the other lab staff but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. The prospect of taking things further with Nick had him both excited and nervous.

He hoped that all of this wasn’t just part of the game and that Nick did actually feel something. If he didn’t, then he would have to put a stop to it all. He hadn’t planned for what would happen when feelings got involved, and he didn’t think Nick had either.

What had happened to Nick though for him to so drastically change? You didn’t just become gay over night. Unless Nick had been living in denial for so long that he just hadn’t realised that he might be attracted to men. Greg had always thought that he felt a vibe off of him, but had just put it down to him growing up around so many women. But it looked like he could’ve been wrong and that Nick was in fact gay or bi.

Whatever the reason for this change in behaviour, he wasn’t sure he could wait very long to find out. Nick had said he would take him for breakfast and he had to find out then. If he didn’t it would just keep him awake again and he really couldn’t handle yet another sleepless day. He needed to know, and he needed to now.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“So, where are we going?” Greg asked Nick as they made their way out to the parking lot.

“I was thinking Daisy’s,” Nick said, “It’s not too far from your place. You could drop your car off and then I’d drive us there.”

“Are you paying?” Greg asked him with a cheeky smile.

Nick rolled his eyes, “Only if you’re good.”

Greg smiled and climbed into his car, “See you at mine,” he shouted out the window as he drove past him.

Nick smiled and shook his head in amusement as he climbed into his own car. As he followed Greg out to his apartment he couldn’t help but start to feel a little anxious. He wasn’t really sure how this was going to go. Greg had been nice enough to him since the break room the night before, even encouraging. But nothing exact had been said so he wasn’t entirely sure. He hoped it went okay and that they at least were able to remain friends. He didn’t want to lose that. Although he was sure that is something that definitely wouldn’t happen. They were too close to let it.

They made it to Greg’s in no time at all. He and Archie didn’t live that far from the lab. Only a few blocks away. Daisy’s was then a few more blocks over again. Near enough to Greg’s but far away from the lab and P.D. not to be frequented that much by those that they worked with. Although there was the chance that there would be the odd few. But Nick wasn’t that bothered. It wasn’t like he was planning on getting down and dirty with Greg in the diner… was he even planning on getting down and dirty at all this morning? Yes. No… maybe. If things got a bit heated he wasn’t sure he’d be able to say no, even if he knew he was supposed to.

When Greg climbed in, an excited smile on his face, Nick was a bit surprised when he leaned forward and placed a small kiss on his lips.

“I’ve been dying to do that all night,” Greg told him, “Now, let’s feed me.”

Nick smiled, all of a sudden feeling that this was going to be easier than he had first thought.

When they got to the diner, they grabbed one of the booths near the back, out of the way of everyone else. Which was just as well really as not long after they had sat down, the cop who had been at Nick’s crime scene walked in with his partner and a couple of other uniforms.

“What?” Greg asked looking over his shoulder as he noticed the change in Nick’s demeanour, “You know them?”

Nick sighed, “Not really. Worked with them a couple of times at scenes, but nothing more.”

Greg looked up at them again and noticed them all staring at them, no wait, it was glaring. Snapping his head back round to look at Nick, Greg was more than a little surprised to see him with his head bowed and nose stuck in the menu.

“Did they say something to you?” he asked.

“What? No,” Nick said, “They’ve just… changed.”

Greg frowned, “In what way?”

“Nothing major, they just kind of ignore me,” Nick said quietly.

“Nick,” Greg sighed, “You don’t have to take that.”

“I know,” Nick said as he put down his menu and looked up at him, “I just. If I make a big deal about them just… ignoring me, what the hell are they gonna do then?”

Greg stared at him for a moment. If Nick allowed this type of behaviour to continue then it could escalate. But then, they might start to get used to it and acknowledge him again.

“Okay, fine,” he said, “But the minute they start to say or do anything remotely inappropriate you have to report it.”

“Okay, okay,” Nick relented, not wanting to continue to talk about it.

“Promise me.”

Nick looked up and into those big brown eyes, full of concern and affection, “I promise,” he told him, reaching across the table and taking his hand.

“Good,” Greg said as he squeezed his hand, “Now what are you having? I think I might have the Texas waffles.”

Nick smiled at that, “Texas huh?”

“Yup. I have a craving for Texan,” Greg told him with a sly grin.

“Well I would make some corny joke about eating a Californian dish, but they don’t have anything on the menu.”

“I’m sure I might have something back at mine you can feast on,” Greg told him, face completely innocent.

Nick found himself laughing softly at Greg’s words, but was saved from any more dirty metaphors by the waitress. Once she was gone, Greg leaned on the table and stared right at Nick.

“What you looking at?” Nick asked him as he too leaned forward.

“Are we gonna talk about this?” Greg asked him.

Nick sighed and looked down at the table for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking back up, “I am having serious doubts about my sexuality,” he told him, “When we kiss, I dunno, it just, it feels right. And I want… I want more Greg.”

“More, meaning…?”

Nick blushed, “I guess, all the things a normal couple have. In and out of the bedroom,” he explained, “But if you don’t, if you just want to stay friends, then that’s cool. But I don’t think I can keep faking it with you if that is the case. It would just mess with my head too much.”

“Nick,” Greg said, “I kissed you when I got in the car right? And I kissed you yesterday just as much as you kissed me.”

“Well yeah, but…”

“I felt it too,” Greg told him, “God, yesterday I was ready to just bang you right there in the car,” he added making Nick blush again, “You’re a very attractive guy Nick, and I’m not just talking about physically. I would be lying if I hadn’t thought about you in a sexual manner before, but I have never felt the need to act on it before.”

Nick nodded, “I know, I feel the same. Although I admit that this is the first time I realised that what I feel for you is sexual attraction. But it’s just… I’ve never felt like this before. Part of me is really excited about the possibility of what might happen, but then a whole other part of me is terrified. What if it’s all in my head? What if I really am gay? If I am, how the hell am I going to tell my parents?”

Greg reached over and took Nick’s hand again, “I get the whole being scared thing, I really do. I didn’t tell my parents until I was in my senior year, and even then it was only cause I had decided to move to New York with my boyfriend when we graduated. And I understand that you’ll be having doubts. I would be worried if you didn’t, it’s only natural. And I’m not going to expect you to do anything until you’re good and ready. As for your parents, well let’s take one step at a time okay?”

“Okay,” Nick nodded, feeling relieved that he at least had Greg to hold his hand… literally, “Thanks.”

Greg shrugged, “That’s what I’m here for,” he said, “Plus I have an invested interest in you not freaking out.”

Nick laughed slightly, wanting nothing more than to reach across the table and kiss Greg. But before he could, the waitress came over with their breakfast and so he let go of his hand instead and made room for his plate.

As they ate, conversation turned towards Nick’s case the previous night. Apparently it had been the son that had broken in. His mother had threw him out and he’d been living with his father ever since. He’d broken back in and stole a few items to teach her lesson cause she’d cared more about her precious jewellery than she ever had him. It was an open and shut case and the son, who would be eighteen in less than a month, would more than likely be going to prison for at least six months.

Nick had felt bad for him as he was obviously a very misguided kid who just sought the love and attention of his mother. But there wasn’t anything he could do about it. And so it would be best he just forgot about the entire thing until the time his trial rolled around.

“Is it hard?” Greg asked him, “Staying detached?”

“It can be,” Nick nodded, “Sometimes, it’s damn near impossible. But that’s what your team mates and supervisors are there for. If they see the case affecting you too much, they’ll tell you to back off until you can get your head sorted out. That’s one of the best things about working in a team. You don’t have to deal with things on your own.”

Greg nodded, “It’s also one of the best things about having a boyfriend. You can talk to him whenever things get tough too.”

Nick smiled and noted their empty plates, “You wanna get out of here?”

“Sure,” Greg said with a grin, as he stood up and pulled his jacket on.

Nick took out his wallet and pulled a couple bills out, throwing them down onto the table and pulling his own jacket on before allowing Greg to take his hand. Holding his head high, he let him lead him out of the diner, past the uniforms who gave them both a look of disdain. But Nick didn’t care. Greg was holding his hand and that’s all that mattered.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

When they got back to Greg’s, Archie gave them a sleepy wave as he headed to his room to pass out.

“You want a coffee or something?” Greg asked him.

Nick shook his head, “I’m good,” he said, “I’m pretty tired if I’m honest.”

“Sooo,” Greg said as he bounced on his feet slightly, “You want to go to bed?”

Nick stared at Greg for a moment as he contemplated what his answer should be, but instead of actually answering he stepped forward, cupped his face and kissed him instead.

Greg wrapped one of his arms round Nick’s waist, pulling him close as he thread his other hand up and into his hair. They battled for control, and Greg couldn’t help but smile into the kiss as he realised that Nick was out to prove a point. However, just as he was about to relent, Nick gave in, allowing Greg to control the kiss.

It was probably the hottest kiss Greg had ever found himself in. Every time he kissed Nick it just seemed to get better and better and he didn’t want to let go. However, when Nick dropped one of his hands to wrap around his waist and grope his ass, he had to pull back.

“You sure about this?” he panted, resting his forehead on Nick’s.

“Yeah,” Nick told him. Now that he was doing it, he had never been surer about anything in his life.

“Okay,” Greg said before kissing him again and pulling him down the hall towards the bedroom.

The bumped into the wall a couple of times and nearly fell through Archie’s door as they stumbled towards Greg’s bedroom. As Greg dragged him back towards the bed, Nick made sure to kick the door closed, letting Greg push his jacket off of him as he did so.

They quickly tore at each other’s clothes, both needing to feel flesh on flesh as soon as possible. Wrapping his arms around Greg’s torso, feeling his smooth skin under his rough fingers, Nick marvelled at just how right this felt. He was a fool to have ever thought this wasn’t what he wanted. Ducking his head slightly to kiss his way down Greg’s neck, he allowed him to push his jeans off his hips so that they were both in nothing but their underwear.

Smiling softly, Greg pulled them down onto the bed so that Nick was lying on top of him. Nick rested his arms either side of Greg as he bent his head for another kiss. As he allowed Nick to kiss him, Greg wrapped his hands around his waist and began to push them down, softly massaging Nick’s ass through the material of his boxer shorts.

Nick seemed to enjoy the feel of Greg touching him as he bucked his hips forward slightly, rubbing himself off of Greg and letting him know just how hard he was. Greg moaned at the contact, bucking up against him in return.

“Can I touch you?” Greg asked him, one of his hands having travelled round to the front of Nick’s underwear.

“Yes,” Nick said quietly.

Not taking his eyes away from Nick’s, Greg reached inside his shorts and took a gentle yet firm hold of him. Nick bit his lip and shuddered slightly at the feel of Greg’s hand on him. It felt better than he had imagined, and when Greg started to move his hand, he thought he was going to explode there and then.

As Nick’s eyes fell shut, Greg pushed with his free hand, rolling them so that they were on their side facing each other. Nick seemed to appreciate this as he relaxed more into Greg’s touch, moaning softly as he allowed himself to enjoy the pleasure Greg was giving him.

As Greg watched Nick bite on his bottom lip some more, he couldn’t fight the need to kiss it and so leaned forward, pulling him into another kiss. When he pulled back, he was surprised to see Nick watching him and even more surprised when Nick’s hand worked it’s way inside his own underwear. He tentively took hold of Greg’s swollen cock and began to stroke him, eliciting the most delightful noises from Greg in the process.

Nick knew he should be nervous, but Greg was making him feel so good that it was too difficult to concentrate on the nerves and he instead gave way to the pleasure. He tried his best to make Greg feel as good as he was feeling, but he was sure he wasn’t doing it right.

“Is this okay?” he asked quietly.

“More than okay,” Greg told him with a small smile before he leaned forward and kissed him again.

“I want to see you,” Nick told him.

Greg looked at him for a moment before nodding. Reluctantly he took his hand back and pushed his underwear off. After throwing it to the floor behind him, he reached forward and started to push Nick’s off his hips, all the time very amused by the fact that Nick hadn’t let go of him.

When they were both naked, they took some time to admire each other, hands softly travelling over their skin as they learned the contours of each other’s bodies. It was so very gentle that it was almost too much for Nick. But gaining control of himself, he pushed Greg down onto his back and began to kiss and lick his way down his body.

Greg wasn’t really sure where Nick was going with this, but he had a fairly good idea, “Nick. You don’t have to,” he said just as Nick reached his navel.

“I know,” Nick said, kissing the bit just in between the bull’s horns, “But I want to,” And it was true. Nick did want to do this. It was one of the things on his list of things he definitely wanted to try. The thought of doing this had aroused him so much that it had scared him at first, but now he knew he wouldn’t be happy unless he at least gave it a go.

“Okay,” Greg said, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself as he watched Nick lower himself so that his face was level with his cock.

Nick stared at Greg’s cock for what seemed like forever, sizing it up and trying to remember all the things his previous girlfriends had done to him that he had enjoyed and all the things he’d wanted them to do but they hadn’t. Gently taking hold of the base of it, he licked his lips before dragging his tongue all the way up the long shaft.

Greg’s legs twitched slightly and he let out a rather loud groan. Nick looked up at him at that. Mandy wasn’t kidding when she said he could be loud. Smiling slightly to himself, he dipped his head and gave Greg’s now dripping cock another few long licks before licking the pre cum off the tip. And then, as slowly as he could, he took Greg as deep into his mouth as he would go.

As Greg watched Nick take him deep into his throat, he couldn’t help but think that he was a natural. God he was amazing. Letting his head fall back onto the pillow, he closed his eyes and allowed the sensations of Nick’s mouth working on him flood his senses. He was aware that he was moaning rather loudly, and probably keeping Archie awake, but he really couldn’t bring himself to give a shit. And it didn’t appear that it bothered Nick, otherwise he would’ve stopped. In fact, him being a bit of a ‘screamer’ was probably good for Nick’s self esteem.

Nick had thought that he would find Greg’s moaning and groaning amusing, but as he sucked on him, slowly beginning to speed up, he found himself getting turned on even more so by it. He wanted to reach down and touch himself, but found he couldn’t as that would mean letting go of Greg. And so he instead concentrated on making Greg feel good. However, just as Greg appeared to really be getting into it, threading his fingers into Nick’s hair, Nick felt pain start to spread through his jaw.

He tried to work through it, tried to get Greg to finish before he stopped, but what started out as a small ache quickly become unbearable. Letting Greg’s cock drop from his mouth with a loud pop, he lowered his face to Greg’s thigh.

“Nick?” Greg asked, “Nick are you okay?”

“Sorry,” Nick said as he looked up at him, “But my face…”

Greg smiled and reached down, pulling Nick up his body so that he could kiss him, “Don’t apologise,” he told him, “You were great.”

“Really?” Nick asked, “But I didn’t finish…”

“Shh,” Greg said, putting a finger over his lips, “Really, it’s fine.”

Nick nodded, allowing Greg to kiss him as they rolled to the side again, Greg rolling him so that he was on his back this time. Reaching down, Greg took hold of Nick again, slowly stroking him as he placed kisses on his face, chest and shoulders.

“So,” he said as he continued to kiss his chest, “How far are you wanting to take this?” he asked.

Nick froze, “I uh… I don’t know. How far do you want to take it?”

Greg smiled at him, “I’m happy with whatever,” he told him, “If you just want to stop at fooling around then that’s cool. But if you want to do more then that’s also cool.”

Nick stared at him for a moment, “If we did do more, how would we do it?” he asked nervously.

Greg smiled at him, “Open your legs,” he told him as he placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Nick did as he was told and opened his legs while Greg licked one of his fingers. Reaching between them, Greg gently probed at Nick’s entrance.

Nick jumped a little bit at the first contact, but didn’t protest, enjoying the feeling of Greg touching him. As he relaxed against Greg’s touch, Greg leaned down and kissed him again. At the same time, he pushed his finger into Nick. Nick gasped, having been taken by surprise. But again, he didn’t protest, but instead opened his legs wider, making room for Greg.

Greg pulled back from the kiss and looked down at Nick, “You seriously want to try this?” he asked, “I don’t mind doing it the other way.”

Nick stared up at him, feeling slightly warm and fuzzy at Greg’s concern, but he was curious and wanted to try it, “Yeah,” he said, “I want to try.”

Greg nodded, “Okay. Turn over,” he told him, stealing one more kiss before removing his hand from him.

Nick rolled over onto his stomach, resting his head on his arms as Greg leaned over his back to his bedside table and pulled out what Nick assumed was a condom and some lubricant. Closing his eyes, Nick did his best to get himself to relax as Greg pushed his legs apart and settled between them.

Greg sat on his knees and pulled the condom on. But he didn’t lube up quite yet. Instead he left the lube sitting at the side before he leaned forward and began planting gentle kisses on Nick’s shoulders. God he had beautiful shoulders. Strong and muscular, but smooth and milky white. He was just gorgeous.

Nick let out a happy sigh as he felt Greg’s mouth kissing and licking it’s way down his spine. When he reached his tail bone, Greg gave one long lick all the way up his spine, making Nick tingle. He did it another couple of times, pushing Nick’s legs further apart until his lick started lower. Nick almost jumped out of his skin as he felt Greg’s tongue swipe over his entrance, all the way up his crack and up his back.

“Oh shit,” he hissed as Greg did it again, and again, before finally settling his face between Nick’s cheeks and concentrating on that one spot.

Greg gently held Nick’s cheeks apart as he probed at his entrance with his tongue, pushing as far as he could. Nick was obviously enjoying it as he pushed his ass back onto Greg’s face and was saying ‘shit’ and ‘fuck’ an awful lot. Smiling, he continued to explore his entrance for a short while longer before finally pulling back. As he reached out and took hold of the lube, he placed a few sloppy kisses on Nick’s lower back, gently nipping at his hips with his teeth.

After quickly spreading the lube over his cock, he sat back, used his free hand to spread Nick’s cheeks again and then began to probe at him with his fingers. He made sure to spread as much lubricant around the entrance as was possible, slipping a finger inside him. He was surprised at the lack of resistance he felt. Nick had to be very relaxed. And so, taking that as a good sign, he pushed a second finger inside.

He felt some more resistance this time, but Nick didn’t verbally protest. Instead his eyes were shut, his face flushed and he was breathing hard as he did his best to stay calm. Watching him closely, Greg pushed his fingers in deeper, searching for that sweet spot that he knew would make it all worth while for Nick. When he found it, he nearly laughed out loud at Nick’s reaction.

“What the fuck was that?” he asked over his shoulder.

“That was your prostate Nick,” Greg told him matter of factly as he nudged against it again.

“Christ!” Nick shouted as he screwed his eyes shut and buried his face in the pillow. Greg smiled and continued his ministrations. He could do this all day, but as Nick began to push back against him, he knew he couldn’t hold back much longer.

“Nick?” Greg asked.

“Yeah?” Nick panted.

“Can I fuck you now?”

Nick opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder at him, “Please,” was all he said before turning away again.

Crawling forward, Greg began to pull his hand out of Nick. Nick whimpered slightly as he felt Greg’s fingers disappear from his body. But then, the head of Greg’s cock was pushing up against him and he felt himself shiver in anticipation. Greg settled a hand on Nick’s lower back as he gently pushed inside him.

He took his time, allowing Nick to get used to the feel of him until he was completely sheathed by Nick’s body. Falling forward, he wrapped his hands under Nick’s chest, holding him close to himself. Nick reached down and placed his hands over Greg’s, making sure he didn’t go anywhere.

“You okay?” Greg asked him.

“Yeah,” Nick said quietly.

“If you want to stop just say,” Greg said.

Nick nodded, turning his head so he could kiss Greg. Greg kissed him back softly as he pulled his hips back slowly. And then he pushed in again, making Nick gasp and fall back from the kiss.

Burying his face in Nick’s shoulder, Greg continued to move, smiling when he found Nick’s prostate again. Yup. Nick was definitely a cusser. The profanity coming out of his mouth, a mouth that you would usually never hear a bad word come out of, was astounding. And as Nick began to push back on Greg, tightening his body around him on every thrust, Greg returned his cussing with loud moans and groans.

They moved together as one, the soft morning sunlight beaming through the gap in the curtains and making their skin glow as it shined on their sweaty bodies. There wasn’t an inch of them that wasn’t touching, both of them gasping into each other’s mouths as Greg brought them both to their climax.

Nick hadn’t thought that it was possible for someone to have an orgasm without their cock being touched. But Greg had managed to make him come just from massaging his prostate. And he had come hard. He had never felt anything like this before in his life and he couldn’t imagine ever having sex in any other way or with anyone else after that. It was amazing. Greg was amazing.

As Greg felt his body wash with pleasure, he stilled his hips, gripping hard onto Nick as his moans disappeared and his mouth opened in a silent scream. Collapsing onto Nick, he wanted nothing more than just to fall asleep like that. But he knew he had to move and so placing soft, sloppy kisses on his shoulders, he pulled back and slipped out.

While he sat on his knees and pulled the condom off, Nick turned to look at him. Neither of them said anything, eyes locking in an understanding instead. Nick reached up and took hold of Greg’s hand, pulling him back down to lie beside him. They wrapped themselves around each other as they kissed and stroked each other until, the coldness on Nick’s stomach became too much for them.

Climbing off the bed, Greg grabbed a towel out of his wardrobe and began to clean Nick up as best he could.

“Are you sore?” he asked him.

“Little bit,” Nick nodded.

“Turn over again,” Greg said. Nick turned back onto his stomach, wondering what Greg was doing when he pulled his cheeks apart again, “I was just checking for blood,” Greg explained as he lay back down beside him, “But you’re fine.”

Nick smiled, once more extremely touched by Greg’s concern for him, before draping an arm over his chest and wrapping himself around him.

“Looks like I’m the bottom then,” Nick mumbled.

Greg smiled, “You shouldn’t say it like it’s a bad thing,” Greg told him, “I mean, the bottom is the one in control. You say stop and I stop. You say harder… I go harder.”

Nick snorted in amusement before looking up at Greg, “So, basically, you’re saying that I’m in charge of you? You have to do what I say?”

“Not exactly,” Greg grinned, stroking his fingers through Nick’s hair, “But I’m too tired to argue just now,” he added as he manoeuvred them under the covers.

“Me too,” Nick mumbled as he wrapped himself around Greg again and they both fell asleep.

THE END


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